One of her most moving tweets read: ‘Hayley Cropper has been like chicken soup for my soul all these years. As an avid viewer I will miss her deeply. What a character #corrie.’

Antony Cotton and Samia Ghadie also wrote, with the former tweeting: ‘Wow. That was quite something. Powerful stuff. Exhausted watching it. Well done one and all #GoodbyeHayley.’

And Samia urged Corrie fans to vote for the ITV soap in tomorrow night’s National Television Awards, tweeting: ‘In case anyone was in any doubt who to vote for at #NTA I think @itvcorrie should’ve made your minds up tonight! http://itv.co/1e36MvB xx.’

Hayley Cropper has been like chicken soup for my soul all these years. As an avid viewer I will miss her deeply. What a character #corrie